Nancy Rubin Stuart
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My Works
Paperback publication July 2009 Winner of the Historic 1699 Winslow House Book Award! In their landmark book on extraordinary women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony hailed Founding Mother Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814) for advocating not only "the freedom of man alone, but ...that of her own sex also." In this meticulously researched biography of the first female historian of the American Revolution and our first woman playwright, Nancy Rubin Stuart depicts Mrs. Warren's life and patriotic achievements. The sister of firebrand James "the Patriot" Otis, who first declared that "taxation without representation is tyranny," the highly educated Mercy Otis Warren was the mother of five sons and the wife of James Warren, Speaker of the Massachusetts House and paymaster general of the Continental Army. In 1775 patriotic Mrs. Warren served as her husband's private secretary at the headquarters of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety and the Provincial Congress to relate news about the Revolution that few men-and virtually no women-enjoyed. How did that happen? Mercy Otis Warren was a close friend of both John and Abigail Adams; she and Abigail shared their fears, comforted each other in their husbands' absences, exchanged theories about child-rearing, and even ran a small importing business together. John Adams, was so impressed with Mrs. Warren's acumen and literary abilities, that he praised her as a "real genius" and encouraged her to write satirical plays, poems, and a history of the American Revolution. By 1805, after reading her three-volume History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution (1805), however, Adams exploded. In one of ten blistering letters, he accused her of having a "determined resolution" to denigrate his role in the Revolution. This eye-opening biography reveals their complex relationship-and why it unraveled. The Muse of the Revolution captures Mrs. Warren's bold interactions with other notables of American history, among them Sam Adams, Henry Knox, Benjamin Lincoln, Hannah Winthrop, Elbridge Gerry, and George and Martha Washington. Mrs. Warren satirized both British and American Loyalists in her popular plays and poems and authored an influential critique of the U.S. Constitution whose principles were later incorporated into the Bill of Rights. Nancy Rubin Stuart reveals how Mrs. Warren's provocative writing made her an exception among the largely voiceless women of the eighteenth century, and she persuasively argues for Mercy's legacy to be appreciated by a new generation. ISBN: 978-0-8070-5516-8 ( New York: Harcourt, 2005) This true-life tale about the 19th century teenage who co-founded spiritualism, reads like a modern soap opera. By 1850, pretty Maggie Fox was trapped in a family intrigue that forced her to conduct seances before the most prominent citizens of New York and made her an instant celebrity. Two years later, the dashing Arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane courted Maggie in a romance that shocked his wealthy family and made newspaper headlines. In 1888,Maggie became front page news again when she appeared 3,000 people at the New York Academy of Music with a confession that sent shock waves through America. Today Maggie's impact upon spiritualism remains a lively debate among those who practice channeling, visit mediums and everyone else who wonders about the possibility of life after death. "The Reluctant Spiritualist" is a story that you'll never forget. (New York: Villard Books, 1995 ; ASJA Press, 2002) A sweeping social history about one of America's most beautiful, wealthy and generous heiresses,the "Duchess of Washington, D.C." and the "Queen of Palm Beach," a friend to the crowned heads of Europe as well as to American presidents, first ladies, senators and diplomats. The daughter of breakfast-cereal magnate, C.W. Post, Marjorie Post's story traces her rise from her middle-class Midwestern roots to the pinnacle of America's high society. Along the way she married four times, anonymously gave thousands of dollars to widows, students and soldiers and earned the respect of hundreds of people for her charity, wit and charm. ( New York, St. Martin's Press, 1991, 1992) ) This richly detailed portrait of Queen Isabella depicts one of the most fascinating figures in European history -- a woman who was passionate lover to Ferdinand of Aragon, revered for conquering the Moors, supporting Columbus on his famous journey, bringing the Renaissance to Spain and feared for initiating the Spanish Inquisition. Like many modern career women today, Isabella was torn between her workaday obligations, her marriage and child-rearing concerns. Was she a visionary, a saint or a she-devil as historians have variously described her? Read "Isabella of Castile" and decide for yourself. (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1984) A dramatic series of stories about motherhood by women from New York to California that illustrate the contemporary woman's dilemma. Is it better for her to remain home to care for her children herself? Or should she avoid the " mommy track" in lieu of career advancement and relegate her children to day care, household workers and after-school programs as they grow up? Should she postpone pregnancy until her late 30s or early 40's -- accepting the likelihood that fertility drugs, in vitro pregnancy or even surrogate motherhood may be the only way she will have a child? The answers to these ongoing dilemmas are as complex today as they were when this book was first published. (New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1982) The suburbs, once based upon inexpensive fuel and free womanpower, are changing. No longer do most suburban woman remain home all day, raising their children, carpooling or volunteering in local charities. More than half of today's suburban women are either single, divorced or remarried and most work outside the home. Working mothers with young children often enroll them in day-care centers, leave them with babysitters and enroll them in after-school programs. The New Suburban Woman, written two decades ago by a suburban contributor to the New York Times, at a time when suburbs were evolving from traditional models of home and hearth into vibrant communities and business centers, remains a valuable snapshot of the ever-changing American dream. |
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